


Dancing With Your Ghost

by huntyschafe



Category: Euphoria (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drug Addiction, F/F, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hospitals, Just Like Heaven au, Multi, ghost au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-13 06:49:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20169952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huntyschafe/pseuds/huntyschafe
Summary: This AU starts post-season one finale. Everything leading up to this point is canon.Rue relapses after Winter Formal and overdoses, leaving her in a coma. This time, she doesn't wake up after four days. While she's in a coma, her spirit starts to physically manifest, but only Jules can see or hear her. When the doctors say the machines are what's keeping her alive, her friends and family grieve and prepare to let her go. Rue's ghost and Jules only have so much time to try and save her.Think of this as a Ghost/Just Like Heaven inspired AU.





	Dancing With Your Ghost

Jules is deep into one of her REM cycles when she hears it. It starts as a sound in the distance, like a dream, and then a whisper.

_Jules. _

It’s a voice like rain. Tender.

_Jules, wake up. _

It’s Rue. But Jules can’t see her. She just hears her, like the last of the echoes in a dark tunnel.

_Jules, please. _

It’s louder now.

“Jules!” Jules wakes up and lifts her head abruptly, looking around at the unfamiliar space. There are feet by her head on one side and a mess of curly hair on the other. She had almost forgotten that after Winter Formal, she took a train into the city. 

It all comes back to her. Rue. The train. The disappointment.

“Your phone has been going off nonstop” Anna says, nudging Jules gently with her elbow and making her aware of the phone buzzing on the nightstand.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Jules reaches over TC’s body and disconnects her phone from the charger. She sits up and checks her notifications.

_13 Missed Calls from Dad. _

_6 New Messages from Dad. _

“Fuck me,” Jules mutters under her breath, using her thumb to quickly unlock her phone and look at the messages from her dad first.

_12:42 AM_

_You coming home, kid? It’s getting late._

_1:12 AM _

_Earth to Jules. _

_1:34 AM_

_Assuming you’re with Rue. Going to call her Mom if I don’t hear from you in the next 10. _

_1:50 AM_

_Call me._

_2:14 AM_

_Jules NOW._

_2:45 AM_

_Where are you? Call me._

Jules wants to believe she’s just being anxious, but there’s no ignoring the darkness that’s suddenly hanging over everything. Her dad is as protective as the next parent, sure, but this feels next level. Something is up.

“Everything okay?” Anna asks, rolling over next to Jules and draping an arm over her thighs and planting a kiss on her hip.

“I’m not sure” Jules answers, her voice quiet.

She closes her messages and looks at the time. It’s 3:14 AM. Just as she’s about to return her Dad’s call, he beats her to the punch. She answers the phone immediately once it starts buzzing in her hands.

“Dad, hi. I’m sorry I was sleeping.”

“Jules,” her Dad says on the line, almost relieved. “My God, where are you? Why haven’t you been answering?”

“I’m sorry. I bought a last-minute train ticket into the city to visit Anna and TC.”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Jules?”

She flinches at the curse word. Her dad virtually never swears.

“Why would you do that? Without saying a word?”

“I wasn’t thinking, I’m sorry. But it’s fine, I’m safe at their house. Everything is okay—”

“Everything is not okay!” his voice sounds strained like he’s whisper-yelling at her through gritted teeth.

At this point, Anna sits up next to Jules, concerned. She can hear Mr. Vaughn’s voice on the other line and while she can’t make out what he’s saying exactly, it sounds serious.

Jules’ stomach drops.

“Did something happen?” she asks, turning to look at Anna for a moment only to quickly look away.

There is a long pause on the other line as her dad draws a breath and then sighs.

“Honey, it’s Rue. I--” he pauses, gathering his thoughts. “I’m with Leslie and Gia at the hospital now. I called her earlier to see if she knew where you were and--”

“Wait, wait, stop. Is Rue okay?” Jules uses her free hand to push Anna’s hand off her back -- the rubbing and touching no longer a comfort.

“Dad, what happened?” Jules asks as she hops out of the bed and starts pacing around the room, collecting her belongings and shoving them into the duffel bag that she left open on top of Anna’s dresser earlier in the night.

“The doctors said she overdosed, honey. I’m so sorry. I thought maybe you knew and that’s why you weren’t answering. I was worried sick.”

Jules’ world starts spinning. She’s not sure if it’s what her dad just said or the fact that she’s probably still a little drunk. Maybe both. Her throat dries up and suddenly her tongue feels like it’s too big for her mouth.

“Can I talk to her?”

“Can you tell me where you are Jules? I want to pick you up and then we can talk about everything.”

“Dad, just let me talk to her.”

“She hasn’t woken up yet.”

All the hairs on Jules’ arms are suddenly sticking up. It’s the worst kind of chill. Jules looks behind her and sees that now TC and Anna are fully awake, sitting up in bed and looking at her with concern.

“Can one of you take me to the train station?” Jules asks, and TC quickly gets up and starts putting on their shoes.

“I gotchu, Jay. Let’s go” they say, and Jules sniffles and wipes underneath her nose with her sleeve. When did she start crying anyway?

“I’m coming home, Dad. I’ll call you when I’m close East Highland.”

“Okay, I’ll be there to pick you up. I love you. Everything is going to be okay.”

“Love you.”

Jules hangs up. She immediately starts putting on her shoes, hands shaking as she tries to tie her shoelaces. Anna is by her side immediately.

“Let me help,” she says, placing her hands over Jules’ until she relents. Once Jules pulls her hands away, Anna starts looping the shoe strings through each other into tight bows.

“Everything okay?” she asks. Jules wordlessly shakes her head, jaws clenched. She keeps her eyes down.

“Okay,” Anna responds, squeezing Jules’ feet once both her shoes are on securely. “I won’t ask,” she adds, “but I’m here when you’re ready to talk.”

Jules takes a deep breath. Brushing her hair out of her face and standing up, she wipes away the wetness from under her eyes and nods at Anna, who is still sitting on the ground. “Thanks,” Jules whispers, swinging her duffel bag over one shoulder and her two canvas bags over the other.

“Let’s go,” she says to TC, who is ready with their keys in hand.

The car ride to the train station is quick and silent aside from the low hum of the engine and the clicking sound from the blinker whenever they signal a turn. When TC pulls into the passenger drop-off at the Downtown Station, Jules thanks them quickly and says she’ll reach out with news asap. What she loves about TC is that they can read her energy and know when she needs space. They don’t pry, even when they’re worried.

She buys her ticket from the tired woman working the night shift and only has to wait two minutes before the train pulls up.

It isn’t until Jules is seated and the conductor turns off the fluorescents in the cabin that she lets everything hit her. She closes her eyes and plays their last interaction back in her head.

_“We’re good! Come on, it’s gonna be amazing” she had said, tugging Rue’s hand in an effort to pull her on to the train. For the first time maybe ever, Rue resisted. _

_“Rue!” Jules had said, still beaming with excitement. She didn’t understand what the big deal was. But looking down at the girl she loved, whose eyes were glittered with stars and purple and tears, she knew something wasn’t clicking. _

_She felt her face drop. Rue was sucking in her breath and biting her lips. She looked anxious. No, distraught. She wasn’t going to budge. Rue released her grip on Jules’ hand, which only caused her to hold on tighter. _

_“Please,” she said, “I love you.” And she meant it. She brought Rue’s hand up to her lips and kissed it. She didn’t like to beg, but here she was._

_The train horn let out a loud blow to signal its departure. It was now or never. _

_Jules thought about hopping off the train, she did. But when it started moving, like second nature she released Rue’s hand and headed for the first seat she could find without looking back. _

The same scene plays over and over again in Jules’ head. She can’t unsee Rue’s face. She can’t understand why she allowed her own sadness and disappointment to cause her to turn away from Rue. To leave her behind.

The guilt is suffocating. Jules rests her head against the window of the moving train and watches as her breath fogs up the glass. Staring at her dark reflection, she can tell her eyes are swollen under all of last night’s make-up. She checks the time. 5:27 AM. She’ll be back in East Highland within the next ten minutes, so she writes out a quick message and hits send to let her dad know. Her mind is simultaneously blank and racing.

_Did all this happen because I left? Did all this happen because I left? Did all this happen because I left?_

“Next stop: East Highland,” says the female computer-generated voice through the train speakers. Jules jumps a little, caught off guard by the volume.

She looks at her reflection in the window again, this time using it as a mirror. She puts her hair into a fresh messy bun and pulls the black streaks into it this time rather than leaving them out. Her skin is flushed, and her head is starting to hurt. She realizes she hasn’t had a sip of water in probably 24 hours. 

The train comes to a halt and the doors open. Jules quickly gathers her things and hops off, looking up at the sky that’s still mostly dark, but changing ever so slightly into that dark blue that happens right before the sun comes up.

“Jules?”

Jules’ heart starts racing as she looks ahead to where the voice is coming from.

“Rue?”

There she is, sitting on a bench like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

“Jules, I’m so sorry,” Rue says, standing up and walking towards her.

“What are you doing here? My dad told me you were at the hospital” Jules says, her bags sliding off her shoulders as she walks towards Rue to meet her halfway. She’s so surprised to see her that she doesn’t notice the weird stares she’s getting from the few people passing her by.

“The hospital? Why?” Rue asks, now standing in front of Jules with only a few inches of space between them.

“I don’t --” Jules' voice trails off in disbelief. Rue is in her maroon hoodie, maroon pants, and her face is stained with mascara and the purple glitter Jules had put on her face for Winter Formal. This can’t be right.

“What are you doing here?” Jules asks again, her breath quickening the more she looks at Rue. Before she gets her answer, she hears –

“Jules!” It’s her dad, calling from his car. She looks at him and then back at Rue.

“I was waiting for you. I’m sorry I didn’t get on the train last night, I panicked. I should’ve gone with you, so I’m sorry.

“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry,” Jules starts to say, reaching up to touch Rue’s face. This time she notices a man staring at her like she’s crazy as he walks by.

“Jules!” her Dad calls again. “Who are you talking to?”

Jules pauses. She looks at her dad, then back at Rue who looks equally confused now.

“What’s he talking about?” Rue chuckles out with a soft smile.

“I feel fucking crazy,” she whispers, this time mostly to herself as she turns around and picks up her bags.

“Jules, what are you doing?” Rue asks, walking towards her.

“You’re in the hospital so I must be like manifesting you right now or something because I feel guilty,” Jules whispers discreetly as she starts walking quickly towards her dad.

“Jules, let’s go!” he calls out again.

Rue follows Jules, matching her quick pace and staying by her side.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, okay? I’m here and I’m sorry and I don’t want you to be mad at me. Please don’t be mad at me.”

When Jules reaches her Dad, he takes her in his arms. She hugs him back, but she can’t stop staring at Rue standing next to her.

“You’re okay, honey. You’re okay” Jules’ dad says, petting her hair and squeezing her.

“Hey Mr. Vaughn,” Rue says timidly, but he doesn’t answer. It’s like he doesn’t even hear her.

_You’re not real. You’re not real. _

“What’d you say?” Jules’ dad asks, making her realize that she was talking out loud.

“Nothing. Can we go?” Jules asks and her dad nods, letting Jules go and opening the passenger-side door for her. Jules gets in and shuts it immediately, setting her bags down by her feet.

Her dad walks around to the other side of the car and lets himself in. With one turn of the key, the engine comes to life and he peels out of the parking spot. All the while, Jules is staring out the window at Rue, who is staring back at her. She has that same look on her face, the one when Jules left her behind.

“You said she’s at the hospital?” Jules asks her dad, her eyes glued to Rue.

“Yeah, honey. I can take you there now or we can go home first, and you can go visit her tomorrow.”

“Take me to her now,” Jules says, and as they drive further away, Rue drops her face into her hands and starts crying for real, like that shoulder shaking and face-contorting type of cry. Jules can’t take it so she averts her eyes, but just for a second. 

When Jules turns to catch a glimpse of Rue again, she’s nowhere to be found.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever multi-chapter fic. Please let me know your thoughts/whether you think I should keep going/if you like it/your predictions! Thanks, hunties!


End file.
